The Archaeologist
by Gabriella Rose
Summary: "The last time I saw you; the real you - the future you, I mean - you turned up on my doorstep with a new haircut and a suit." It's River's time.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Why, hello there! This is my first fanfic, so please review and help me to improve :) This story takes place just before River goes on the expedition to The Library in season four. This is just the first chapter, and I will try to have the next part up sometime this week! Enjoy! :D **

The Doctor half-walked, half-ran, half-skipped into the TARDIS closet and began to dig frantically through his clothes. He tossed the unwanted articles of clothing behind him haphazardly with no apparent intention to clean up anytime soon. For several minutes he worked like this, slowly making his way down the rack on the wall. Finally, his eyes lit up and he pulled out a black suit jacket. In one swift motion, the Doctor threw off his coat and shrugged on the jacket. He spun around and leaped over the sizeable mound of clothes he had created so that he could get to the mirror on the other wall. When he reached his destination, he spun again, striking a pose when he came back around. Then, he turned to the left, adjusting the jacket and admiring himself. To the right he did the same thing. Excited, he spun one last time and made a different pose, just for good measure. He paused, an already huge grin growing bigger, and said:

"_He-_llo, Sweetie!"

A few minutes later the Doctor strode into the control room of the TARDIS, head held high and a look of smug confidence on his face. He was dressed nicely: the black suit jacket he had picked previously, black pants with a white belt, black shoes, and underneath the suit jacket, a pale pink shirt and a white bowtie.

In a grand gesture, the Doctor grabbed the railing of the steps that lead to the main floor of the control room and jumped down before running to the console and nearly sliding into it. In an excited frenzy, he ran around the console smashing buttons, pulling levers, and flicking switches. The engines of the TARDIS began to wheeze and off they hurtled, the Doctor and the TARDIS, into the time vortex. As they flew, the Doctor examined the scanner screen and made a few adjustments to the settings on the console. No less than a minute later, the TARDIS landed. The Doctor scrutinized the scanner one last time and then dashed for the main doors. Before he opened them, however, he stopped and looked in a reflective surface by the door to straighten his bowtie, which had gone slightly askew during the flight. This final preparation completed, he reached for the doors and stepped outside.

The TARDIS had taken him to 51st century Earth.

"A little dull, isn't it?" He muttered under his breath. The TARDIS door shut behind him as he walked away slowly and took in his surroundings. "Hadn't really expected you to be here," he mumbled again as if he were talking to someone, though nobody was around. "Although," he said after a slight pause, "there isn't much I really _can _expect from you, is there." The Doctor smirked at that and continued walking towards the large brick building in front of him that was obviously his intended target.

He walked to the front of the building to see exactly where it was he was supposed to be going. A sign on the front designated it as "Lux Exploration, Inc." The Doctor hopped up the concrete steps and tried the glass door. It opened without complaint and he slipped inside.

The lobby he was standing in was large and obviously built to impress. Natural light poured in through the windows near the ceiling, which was at least twenty feet high. A large wooden reception desk sat opposite of the doors, but it was unoccupied.

Hesitantly, the Doctor walked towards the desk, his shoes clicking loudly as they hit the polished marble floor. There was a small red button on the edge of the desk and the Doctor eyed it.

_Little red buttons are typically not meant to be pressed, _he thought._ I really shouldn't press it. _

His fingers loomed over it hungrily. The room was completely, eerily silent. Suddenly his hearts began to race. Something felt very wrong. Slowly, the Doctor looked up and examined the room. There was absolutely no sound and he hadn't seen one living soul yet. The building was too big for no one to be inside of it. The size of the lobby also caused a tremendous echo. If there was someone there, any sound they made should have carried to right where he stood. But it hadn't.

The Doctor turned his gaze to the little red button on the reception desk again.

_If this little red button__** really**__ were dangerous (as little red buttons so typically are), why would it be just left out for anyone to push? If it were a threat, it would be covered up and locked away. Right? _

He let his fingers slide over the top of the button gently. But not gently enough. The button sank with a small click and the Doctor jumped back, quickly removing his hand. Nothing happened. The silence was undisturbed save for the echo of a small yelp of surprise he had let out. The Doctor didn't move and only listened. His echo faded away and, still, nothing happened.

_Now we're in trouble._

The Doctor had almost started to relax when he heard something. Quietly at first, then growing louder and louder, were footsteps. They echoed all around him and the Doctor turned frantically, trying to discover the source of the sound. Suddenly, the footsteps stopped and the echo began to die away. The Doctor froze again. His back was to the reception desk, so he slowly began to turn his head around. Before he could see the desk again, however, the sound of a throat being cleared came from behind him.

The Doctor leaped into the air, spun his body around to face the desk, and pulled out his sonic screwdriver all in one motion. Upon landing, he saw a woman standing behind the desk holding a clipboard. She had apparently come from the other side of a door that was slowly swinging shut behind her. She raised her eyebrows.

"Can I help you?" The Doctor looked at her for a moment in confusion before lowering his sonic screwdriver, which he had been pointing at her.

"Oh," was all that came out of his mouth. The woman turned her head slightly to the side and repeated him.

"Oh?"

"That was – oh. Okay. Okay… Sorry! I'm th- Smith! Doctor Smith." The Doctor moved to the desk in a few large steps and held his hand out for her to shake, only to realize too late that he was still clutching his screwdriver. The woman looked at his hand with furrowed eyebrows and the Doctor quickly shuffled the screwdriver to his other hand, still somewhat hesitant to put it away. Even with his hand freed, however, the woman made it clear she had no intention of shaking it. Awkwardly, the Doctor dropped his arm to his side and stood up straight.

"Can I help you, Dr. Smith?"

_This woman is no fun at all._

"I'm looking for Professor River Song. Do you know where I could find her?"

"She just left. I can leave her a message if you like, although she probably won't see it for a few weeks." The Doctor sighed heavily.

"No, no that's alright. Could I have her address, though?"

"No. That's confidential information."

"Of course it is." The Doctor began to turn around, shoulders slightly hunched in frustration. "Thank you, anyway. Goodnight." Slowly, he walked towards the doors. He stopped before he reached them, however. Something the receptionist had said was nagging at the back of his mind. He turned back to look at her again. She hadn't moved from where she stood, watching him leave.

_What is so important about __**that?**_

He decided to ask anyway.

"Why did you say that Professor Song wouldn't receive my message for a few weeks?"

"She's heading an expedition. They leave tomorrow and don't return for at least three weeks." Something inside the Doctors' mind started to panic. Without a word, he bolted outside. He pushed through the doors and grabbed the corner of the brick wall on the outside of the building, pulling himself around so he could see the sign next to the door. A look of horror and despair engulfed the Doctors' face as he slowly traced each of the letters embossed on the bronze sign.

_L. U. X._ _E. X. P. L. O. R. A. T. I. O. N. I. N. C. _

"No," he lamented. "Not now. No, no, no…"

_No, no, no, no, no, no, no…_

"NO!" The Doctor slammed his fist onto the sign, breaking open the skin in a few places. Forcefully, the Doctor pushed himself away from the sign with both arms and sprinted away, towards the TARDIS.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: We meet again! Here is the second installment to my first fan fiction! I'm afraid that my updates will be rather sporadic until school lets out because of final exams and whatnot, but hopefully I will make a habit of posting regularly during the summer :) This chapter contains a bit of Eleven/River fluff, but how can a girl such as myself resist? Review and enjoy! **

The TARDIS door slammed violently as the Doctor ran inside. In three long strides he reached the console. Breathing heavily, he put his hands on the edge and leaned into it. He rocked back and forth, trying unsuccessfully to calm himself. Suddenly he shoved himself away from the console and ran his fingers through his hair. A slight moan escaped him. Looking for someone to talk to and confide in, he turned away from the console to face the doors he had just come through.

He was alone. So very, very alone. He wanted someone to tell him what to do or what not to do. He wanted someone to hold his hand and run with him. He wanted someone to let him know that everything was going to be fine, in the end.

And that someone was going to die in a little over 48 hours.

With a yell reminiscent of a war cry, the Doctor charged back towards the console and kicked it with all of his might. The TARDIS groaned in protest at the same time that the Doctor shouted.

"Damn!" He yelled partially out of frustration and partially because of the pain. Sucking in his breath through his teeth, he clutched at his leg and hobbled around some before falling into one of the captains' chairs. The chair squeaked as the Doctor leaned forward and put his face in his hands.

_There has to be a way to keep her from leaving on that expedition…_

…but there wasn't a way and he knew it. This timeline was set in stone from the moment River called the wrong version of himself to the library so long ago.

_I could warn her…_

…but that was also impossible. She couldn't know. She was the only person he had to talk to that he could completely trust with anything, and he couldn't say a word about it to her.

In 48 hours, River and her team would arrive at The Library and she would send him a message on his psychic paper telling him to meet her there. This would be the first time he ever met her. Later that night, after the majority of her team had been killed and all hope seemed lost, she would sacrifice herself to save a man that didn't even know her, but whom she knew everything about. Beautiful, incredible, fearless River Song would die for him and there was nothing he could do to change that.

Slowly, the Doctor rubbed his hands over his eyes and down his face, wiping away a few tears that had gathered there but not fallen. All of the excitement he had felt earlier at being able to see River again was gone and he realized that this would be the last time he ever saw her again. No more saving worlds, or sneaking her out of jail in the night, or just being able to talk to her. And there was no proper way for him to tell her goodbye.

A memory suddenly came back to him from the night that he saw her die. She had said something to him.

"_The last time I saw you; the real you - the future you, I mean - you turned up on my doorstep with a new haircut and a suit." _

As he recalled her words, the Doctor looked down at himself. He filled the part she described, sans the haircut. That could easily be fixed, however.

"_You took me to Derillium to see the singing towers. What a night that was…" Ah, Derillium. A wonderful place to take her for our… _

He couldn't finish the thought.

"_The towers sang and you cried. You wouldn't tell me why, but I suppose you knew it was time. My time. Time to come to The Library."_

A tear slid down his face and he shook his head in an attempt to stop remembering. He had pushed it out of his mind for so long…

"_You even gave me your screwdriver. That should have been a clue."_

Involuntarily, the Doctor's hand reached up into his jacket and pulled out his sonic screwdriver. He held it in front of his face and stared at it for a moment before resting his forehead lightly against its tip.

Her voice still shoved its way into his mind and he cringed as it grew in volume. Lethargically, as though he were in some kind of physical pain, the Doctor pushed himself out of his seat and made his way to the console. In a moment, the TARDIS was in flight.

...

About an hour later, the TARDIS landed on the corner of Olive and Madison, back in 51st century Earth. The Doctor stepped outside. It was about five o'clock in the evening and the sun was beginning to dip low in the sky. A cool spring breeze ruffled his freshly cut hair. It was slightly shorter on the sides and in the back, but the style was still the same. The Doctor wouldn't let the hairdresser even go near it, no matter how much he had pleaded with him to "fix" it.

_I don't care if he __**is **__considered the best stylist in the universe; if he thinks my hair needs "fixing"… _

The Doctor's empty threat trailed off in his thoughts and he looked around for clues as to which house belonged to River. It wasn't obvious at first, but then the Doctor spotted the bumper sticker on her vehicle. All it said was "DOCTOR", but the two O's had been replaced by two TARDIS blue hearts. He rolled his eyes and began to walk towards the house that corresponded with that driveway. The house was blue, but a much paler blue than the TARDIS. He stepped up a few concrete stairs to get to the front door. Before knocking, however, he hesitated.

_This is the last time I will ever be able to knock on her door and surprise her again._

He looked at the ground for a moment to compose himself and then knocked three times. While he waited for her to answer, he rocked back and forth on his feet nervously.

_Too many endings. I hate endings. _

The door suddenly swung open, catching the Doctor slightly off guard. He looked towards the opening with a goofy smile plastered across his face. River stepped into the light and squinted at him. She looked like she had just woken up; her hair was a mess, her makeup was smeared, and she was still straightening her wrinkled clothes.

"Doctor," she said sleepily, and then realized that he was actually standing in front of her. "Doctor!" River went up onto her toes, grabbed the Doctor's face possessively, and planted an eager kiss on his lips.

_Wide-awake now, aren't we?_

The Doctor smiled into their kiss and pulled her closer to him. They stayed that way for a few minutes, and the Doctor savored every second.

_The last time, the last time, last time…_

He pulled back out of the kiss just far enough so that he could talk. "Hi, Honey. I'm home." As he spoke his lips brushed over hers gently. River smiled and stepped back to look at him.

"What's the occasion," she asked as she studied him from top to bottom and back to the top again.

"You." River looked down at herself.

"Well, you might have warned me first." The Doctor laughed.

"You look fine! In fact, you look better than fine. You look beautiful." River grabbed his wrist and pulled him in through the door before shutting it. He enveloped her in another embrace and kissed her again. He ran his fingers through her tousled hair and she felt her way around his back and shoulders. After a few minutes the Doctor pushed away from her gently and held her arms. "Get dressed; I'm taking you somewhere you will never forget!"

River's eyes shone with excitement.

"I have to be back in time to get some sleep tonight. I'm leaving on an expedition tomorrow morning." The Doctor's expression darkened and River frowned.

"What's wrong?" Quickly the Doctor recovered and gave her a completely convincing smile.

"Nothing! I know you're leaving. The TARDIS took me to where you work first when I was looking for you."

"Okay. I'll be out in ten minutes." She grabbed the front of his shirt to lift her up and gave him a peck on the cheek before turning around and disappearing into the hall. He could hear a door shut and water begin to run.

The Doctor sat down on a couch a few feet away from him. With a heavy sigh, he leaned back and got comfortable. Within a few seconds, he was fast asleep.

...

Ten minutes later, as promised, River reappeared in the living room. She was dressed in a very form-fitting, low-cut red dress and beige pumps.

The Doctor was sprawled out on the couch, asleep. One of his arms was lying across the backrest. Quietly, she slid onto the couch next to him and snuggled herself against him. He groaned in his dream and River frowned. He was saying something but she couldn't make it out. She watched him for a minute as his eyes rolled maniacally beneath his lids. Gently, she leaned over and kissed him. He woke up with a jolt and his eyes shot open. River didn't flinch and continued to kiss him as he relaxed and began to kiss her back.

River fell back into his arm again and turned to look at him. A small frown was etched into his forehead so that only she would ever possibly notice it.

"Are you alright, Sweetie," she asked him. His frown vanished and he gave her a look of incredulity.

"Of course I'm alright! I'm always alright!" At that moment, however, he hugged her and she knew that something was most definitely not alright.

_I won't push him, _she thought._ If he can tell me, he will._

"Good," she told him after a pause. "So, where are you taking me?" The Doctor gave her a mischievous grin and leaned in close to her face to make his point.

"You'll see!" He leaped up off of the couch and then grabbed River's hand to pull her up too. The Doctor went to the door and held it open for her. She laughed and walked outside. The TARDIS was on the corner of her street. After the Doctor closed the door behind them, he moved himself behind her and placed his arm around her waist. "Ready?" River could feel his breath on her neck and his arm around her and the energy of the TARDIS and it made her stomach flutter with joy.

She turned her head so that she was looking over her shoulder at him and beamed.

"Yes!"

"Well, come on, then!" The Doctor trotted ahead of her and grabbed her hand. They ran to the TARDIS, hand-in-hand, just like it was supposed to be.

When they reached the TARDIS, the Doctor pushed the door open and hopped inside. River stopped just before getting in and stroked the blue exterior next to the door.

"Hey, there, Old Girl," she whispered. "Has he been treating you well?"

"I'm waiting, Honey!"

River laughed and patted the TARDIS one more time before stepping inside and shutting the door behind her.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry for the delay! I know, I'm a terrible person :( On the upside, school lets out on the 3****rd****! My goal is to post something new every week once school's done, so you have permission to yell at me if I don't. For some reason I had a lot of trouble writing this chapter. I'm happy with how it turned out, but I was very uninspired and I had to go watch some old River episodes for help. Be prepared for an abundance of fluffy-gooey stuff. Review and enjoy! **

**P.S.: What did everyone think of "The Name of the Doctor"? Some people are saying that it was River's last episode, but I'm not sure. I'm curious of what you think, so talk to me! **

With a thud, the TARDIS landed. Excitedly, the Doctor bounded down the stairs and slipped out of the door. He didn't shut the door completely, but just enough that River wouldn't able to see outside yet.

It was perfect. Derillium's sun was low on the horizon, but not completely gone yet. The light it cast across the land held a magnificent pink and purple hue that made the deep blue grass shimmer in the gentle breeze. The Doctor bent down and ran his hand over the grass. Unlike the grass on Earth, it was thin and soft. Its appearance was similar to that of the downy feathers on a bird: and it felt similar too.

River walked around the console and made a few final adjustments before turning to look at the Doctor, who had reappeared in the doorway.

"Are you coming or not?" As the Doctor spoke he moved dramatically to point one arm at River and the other at the slightly open door behind him.

"Only if you insist."

"Well I do." The Doctor swiftly glided from the door to stand in front of River, their noses almost touching. Teasingly, he leaned in as if he intended to kiss her, but instead reached for her wrists and pulled her towards the exit.

River and the Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS and River gasped quietly.

"It's beautiful," she breathed. The Doctor grinned with pride. Letting go of her wrist that he was still clutching tightly, he skipped backwards and spread out his arms to display the expanse of the planet and as he did so, his smile grew wider.

"Five-thousand years before any sort of civilization was built here and twenty-thousand years before Earth was even created. It's all ours, and we've got seven-billion years to kill, Professor." River laughed incredulously as her eyes explored their planet and then fell back to explore her Doctor. He was still standing a few yards away from her with his arms out. The Doctor stared back at River and raised his eyebrows.

"Well?"

"What's over there?"

"What?" The Doctor dropped his arms and looked over his shoulder in the direction River's finger was aimed.

"Those rocks" Without any more explanation, she began to walk towards a set of three jagged rock formations the jutted up from the ground; all the same height and all directly juxtapose to each other. The Doctor ran to shut the TARDIS door before catching up to River.

"_Those rocks _are called the Singing Towers. They are said to create some of the most beautiful sounds in the Universe. However, they only sing after the sun has set." At the same time, both he and River turned their heads to the right to see Derillium's pink sun. A small sliver of the star was still visible above the horizon, but it was disappearing quickly.

Together, they continued to walk towards the Towers. Before long, they stood in a meadow at their base. The last of the evening light shone from the gaps between the three Towers. The Doctor plopped down onto the soft ground next to where River stood and motioned for her to do the same. She sat beside him and they watched the light fade in silence. As the sky grew an ever-deeper shade of purple, the Doctor ran his thumb over the palm of River's hand absent-mindedly. The heat of the sun abandoned them, but the air stayed warm and the breeze calmed so that it moved only enough to stir the oxygen around them and keep it from going stale.

River sighed in contentment and laid back into the soft grass. The Doctor followed suit and offered his arm as a pillow. River nestled herself into the crook of his arm and he rested his cheek against the top of her head. He could smell her shampoo and he buried his nose into her hair to breathe her in.

The sky had turned such a deep hue of purple that it was almost black. The Doctor and River gazed up at it as millions of stars began to light up the night in a brilliant display. Whole galaxies could be observed in all of their dazzling pink and gold and green and blue. Clouds of gas reflected the colorful light and swirled around just outside the atmosphere above River and the Doctor.

A humming noise began to come from the Towers, making itself noticeable very gradually. The Doctor noticed it first and shushed River, even though neither of them had made a sound in twenty minutes.

"Shh! Listen. Can you hear it," the Doctor whispered as he covered River's lips with his index finger. River lifted her head slightly and strained her ears. After a moment, her face lit up.

"Yes," she breathed almost silently. "I can hear them." The humming noise grew and swelled as more hums joined, all in different pitches. The Towers sang, the music rising to a climax, then falling to a lullaby and back again, never faltering and always absolutely perfect.

"_The Towers sang and you cried…"_

The Doctor turned his head just enough so that he could look at River. Her eyes were closed, but he knew she wasn't asleep. Her face was so peaceful and the music was so beautiful and the night was so calm; but he knew that it would only last until morning.

_Just a few short hours and all of this will be gone. _

Tears welled up in his eyes and he laid his head back on the grass, trying to blink them away. River felt him stir and opened her eyes. The Doctor shut his own, trying to avoid her. He could feel her hand brush his face and wipe away a tear that he hadn't realized had fallen. She wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his chest.

"River…" he exhaled her name slowly. River's hair began to glitter like the galaxies above them as it caught his tears.

"_The Towers sang and you cried. You wouldn't tell me why, but I suppose you knew it was time. My time. Time to come to The Library."_

His gentle weep turned into a shaking sob and he hugged River close to him. The music filled the air around them and consumed them and the Doctor felt completely vulnerable. Exposed.

After what seemed like hours, the Doctor's eyes began to flutter shut and he calmed. River lifted her head from his chest and kissed him gently, her hand reaching up to hold his face. The Doctor's eyes closed completely and he kissed her back. River removed her hand from his face and began to slowly slide it down his body as he did the same.

"_What a night that was…"_

The music grew in intensity and so did the Doctor and River's passion. River rolled over so that she was half-laying on top of him. A feverish sensation of want overtook him and he explored her body ever lower. Suddenly, River sat up and pulled the Doctor up with her. She was straddling his legs as she took his jacket off of him and threw it to the side. The Doctor slid his hand underneath her dress and River breathed heavily as she began to kiss him again. They lay back again and rolled over together so that the Doctor was above River.

"Have I ever said how much I love you," the Doctor asked in a breathy voice.

"Not enough," River said jokingly and grabbed his shirt to pull him closer so she could kiss him. Their lips met but the Doctor pulled away.

"Well I'm saying it now, River. I'm saying it a million times." They kissed again. "I love you, River Song. Melody Pond. I love you." River smiled.

"I know." She rolled over onto her side and the Doctor lay down beside her and looked into her eyes. "And I love you too."

The music from the Towers swelled again and River and the Doctor lost themselves in each other.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Remember when I said I was going to post something new every week once school let out? Well, I might have lied. Sorry for the delay! Hopefully I make up for it by making this chapter a little longer. Anyway, here it is: The fourth and final full chapter of "The Archaeologist"! If you're a big Eleven/River fan, I'm sorry. This might hurt a bit. And don't count on it, but I might write a short epilogue. As always, review and enjoy! :) **

**P.S.: If anybody has any suggestions or requests for my next fan fiction, let me know! **

Even though the air had remained warm throughout the night, the Doctor grabbed his suit jacket that had been previously tossed to the side and used it to cover up both River and himself. River resituated herself so that she was lying on her side with her head on the Doctor's shoulder and her arms wrapped around his middle. The music that the Singing Towers created had hushed to a peaceful serenade. The Doctor rested his chin atop River's head and looked up at Derillium's night sky. Its splendor had not dimmed and the myriad stars glittered in the dark. From where he lay, the tips of the Singing Towers were just visible at the edge of his sight. Against the brilliant night sky, their jagged edges were pronounced.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" The Doctor spoke only just loud enough that River could hear him.

"Mmhmm," was her only response. The Doctor continued anyway.

"It's amazing how something so ragged can create something so beautiful and pure."

"I suppose," River mumbled.

"Are you listening, River?"

"I would be if I weren't sleeping, Doctor."

"Well you're obviously not asleep because if you were, you wouldn't be talking to me." There was no response. "River?" She still did not reply and the Doctor snorted. She was asleep.

Alone to his thoughts, the Doctor's mind began to reel with the idea of River's death. He squeezed his eyes shut as if to try and stop himself from thinking, but instead of seeing darkness, memories from that fateful day in The Library replayed themselves over and over again.

"…_but I suppose you knew it was time. My time. Time to come to The Library." _

The night was quickly coming to an end and so was River's time. At the thought of having to wake her up, his hearts sank. Dawn was approaching quickly, however, and the stars were beginning to fade away. There was no point in prolonging the inevitable.

The Doctor rolled over onto his side and held River in his arms.

"Wakey-wakey." River groaned and tried to turn away, but he held her tight.

"But we are having so much fun, Sweetie," She said without opening her eyes.

"You are. I can't sleep. Come on! You've got an expedition to lead!"

"Time machine?"

"The TARDIS is the most powerful machine in the Universe, and you want to use it so you can sleep in?"

"Yes." The Doctor sighed dramatically and leaped up to stand above River. With a groan, she grabbed the Doctor's outstretched hand and pulled herself up.

"Come on," The Doctor said as he helped River stand. "Things to do! Worlds to save! Or… salvage." He threw a sidelong glance in her direction.

"Don't start!"

"You know, if you archaeologists would just use time travel, you could actually study things _as they are happening_ instead of hundreds or thousands of years after the fact!"

"Not everyone has a TARDIS, Doctor." At that, the Doctor couldn't argue. Straightening himself up a bit, the Doctor put on a smug face.

"You're right."

"Of course I'm right, Sweetie." Just at that moment, the Doctor and River reached the top of a small hill. The TARDIS was parked at its base. Together they walked down the hill and into the TARDIS. The Doctor let River go first and shut the doors behind them. Before he was even completely inside, she had made her way to the console and was already setting the coordinates for her house.

Slowly, the Doctor made his way up the stairs and just watched River as she worked, a sad look in his eyes.

"What is it," River asked without looking away from what she was doing.

"Nothing. Just… thinking."

Before she had a chance to reply, the TARDIS began to rock violently. Sirens and alerts sounded throughout the room and the Doctor slid precariously across it to reach the stairs that led below the console. He fell before he got far, however. River seemed to have more luck balancing on her own and she yelled at the Doctor, who was currently trying to roll himself into a standing position from where he lay a few feet away from her.

"Give me your screwdriver!" Even with River shouting, the Doctor could barely hear what she said.

"What?!"

"SCREWDRIVER, DOCTOR! GIVE IT TO ME!"

"WHA-"

"OH FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE." River fell to her knees beside the Doctor and reached her hand into his coat, feeling around for the opening to the hidden pocket that contained his sonic screwdriver. The TARDIS listed viciously to one side and they slid across the glass floor, clinging onto each other. With a crack, the Doctor's head collided with the bottom rung on the railing surrounding the platform. River found the screwdriver and pushed herself away from him, nearly toppling backwards as she did.

The Doctor watched through half-closed eyes as she made her way down the steps. When she disappeared below, he rolled over onto his stomach to watch her through the floor. River searched for the problem without much luck. The Doctor had taught her how to fly the TARDIS, but most of the repair jobs he left for himself.

"IT'S THE DEMATERIALIZATION CIRCUIT! IT'S MALFUNCTIONING! FLIP THE THREE WHITE SWITCHES ON THAT PANEL AND REATTACH THAT YELLOW WIRE TO THE GREEN ONE!" River found the panel and did as he said. Using the screwdriver, she fused the two wires together, but as soon as they were attached, the TARDIS shut down all power. They were stranded in mid-flight.

The Doctor's ears rang in the silence. Slowly, River looked up at him through the floor.

"I don't think it was the yellow wire, Darling."

"My head's a bit… wobbly. I think I'll just lay here a moment." Without moving from where he lay with his face pressed up against the glass, the Doctor shut his eyes.

…

River walked quietly up the stairs and back onto the main platform of the control room, heading towards the unconscious Doctor. She wasn't about to try and fix the TARDIS on her own, so she had to wait until he woke up. Kneeling down next to him, she felt his head where it had struck the railing. Her hand came away bloody. River guessed that he was very unconscious and wouldn't mind if she moved him, so she picked him up under the arms and half-carried, half-dragged him over to the nearest set of chairs. Gently, she laid him across the three seats, his feet hanging off of one end.

When she righted herself after resituating the Doctor, she turned and hopped up the stairs on her right towards the medical room. Walking through the TARDIS was almost habit for River now and she didn't have to think about where she was headed. Before she knew it, she was at her destination and rummaging through the cabinets for a needle, some thread and a pair of scissors. River quickly found what she was looking for and was on her way out when, as an afterthought, she grabbed a small jar of pain-relieving salve. An in-pain Doctor was a grumpy Doctor and a grumpy Doctor was no fun whatsoever.

When she reached the top of the stairs leading into the control room, she could see that the Doctor was still unconscious. As she walked back over to him, River pulled the sonic screwdriver out of her pocket to use as a light in the darkened TARDIS. She rolled the Doctor over onto his side so that she could see the cut on the back of his head and sat on the floor beside him.

Holding the sonic screwdriver in her mouth so she could see what she was doing, River pulled back some of his hair that was covering the wound. With a sigh she chopped off a small chunk.

_Looks like I'll have a grumpy Doctor no matter what kind of pain medicine I give him._

River worked quickly and sewed up the gash. When she was done, she smeared a small amount of the salve on and did her best to hide his new bald spot. Finding her work complete, River returned the items she took from the medical room and then went to the kitchen to make some tea for when he woke up.

As she waited for the water to heat, River mulled over everything that had happened in the last 14 hours.

_Something isn't right with the Doctor. What does he know…?_

It had been a fantastic night and she knew that he had enjoyed it just as much as she had, but the Doctor had seemed distraught over something and he wasn't telling her what. She knew that there were some things they couldn't tell each other, but this one in particular was really irritating her.

_Which means I probably really don't want to know what it is.  
_

Absent mindedly, River toyed with the sonic screwdriver in her hand as she thought.

"Keep it." River jolted back to reality and spun around to see the Doctor standing in the doorway. Realizing what he had just said, she frowned. "My sonic. I want you to keep it."

"Why," River asked with surprise as she shook her head.

"No questions, just take it. I want you to have it."

"But you nee-"

"I don't need it, you need it. Besides, the TARDIS will make me a new one… Once I have her working again. Speaking of which, I may actually need my screwdriver. Just until I'm done fixing the TARDIS. Then you can have it."

"I said you needed it."

"Yes. Right, let's go! Work to do! Wait! May I have some-"?

"Tea." River held out an already made cup of tea as she finished his sentence.

"Ah!" The Doctor held the cup up to his face and smelled the steam rising off of the surface of the liquid as he turned away from River and headed back to the control room. Picking up her own cup, she followed.

…

An hour and a half and five cups of tea later, the TARDIS blinked back to life. With a triumphant laugh, the Doctor leaped up to the console to boot up the scanner. River was close behind and began to walk around, resetting all of the buttons and levers and switches.

In seconds they were in flight without any glitches. The whole time he was working, the Doctor kept his eyes on River. She didn't say anything this time, but he suspected that she was aware of his gaze following her.

It only took two minutes to get from Derillium back to the corner of Olive and Madison on 51st century Earth. The Doctor winced internally at the sound of the TARDIS landing.

"What time is it?"

"You've been gone an hour."

"Well, then. I should be off! We leave early." The Doctor nodded and together they stepped out of the TARDIS. Once they were clear, he shut the doors behind them and reached up to hold River's arms, pulling her just a little bit closer.

"Good luck tomorrow. You'll be brilliant."

"You know something, don't you? Something happens tomorrow."

"Spoilers!"

"But it's not good, is it?" The Doctor didn't respond, but the silence he caused was answer enough. Slowly, he reached into his coat and produced the sonic screwdriver.

"I almost forgot. Here, it's yours."

"I still don't understand."

"You don't have to. Just take it. It will make me feel better, if anything." Giving her a half-hearted smile, he closed her fingers around the screwdriver. River leaned in and kissed him, their hands still clasped around it. The Doctor fell back against the TARDIS doors and they stayed that way for several minutes.

"Oi! Get a room, you two!" The Doctor and River broke apart to see an older man walking along the pavement on the opposite side of the street from them, shaking his head. River laughed and turned around to walk back to her house.

With every step she took, the Doctor's hearts sunk a little lower.

"Take care, River!"

"I always do!" River didn't turn around when she responded, and suddenly, she was in her house and the door was shut behind her.

"Goodbye," The Doctor whispered aloud. He turned and walked back into his TARDIS quietly.

Across the street, the old man that had chastised River and the Doctor heard a strange noise. He turned and watched in disbelief as the big, blue, police box disappeared, right in front of his eyes.


	5. Epilogue

**A/N: Here it is, as promised, the cherry on top of my fanfiction: The epilogue. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. **

River looked down at the unconscious Doctor at her feet. It was a scene that was all too familiar to her: And yet, it was also so peculiar. Just days ago, she had been tending to another lifeless Doctor. But the one in front of her now was not the same one. He wasn't _her _Doctor. Not yet, anyway.

Slowly, but with resolve, River grabbed the Doctor under his arms and dragged him over to a railing. From of a pocket on the outside of her suit, she produced a pair of handcuffs and laughed quietly to herself as she did so. Once the Doctor was secured to the railing with the handcuffs, River stood and turned to look at the chair behind her.

To her surprise, River's mind was quite calm. She knew what it was that she needed to do to save the Doctor, and there was no doubt in her mind about whether or not she was going to do it. She would do anything for that man, no matter what.

_He doesn't know it now, but he will. Someday he will know who I am. All of that is still ahead of him._

River recalled something she had said to her father years ago.

"_A day is coming when I'll look into that man's eyes… my Doctor… and he won't have the faintest idea who I am. And I think it's going to kill me." Wow. I hit that nail on the head, didn't I?_

Despite the situation, River laughed at herself. She sobered quickly, however, and began to move towards the chair in front of her.

"Auto-destruct in five minutes," the computer reminded her. River was almost sitting down when she felt something move in one of her top pockets. It was the sonic screwdriver the Doctor had given her before she left on this expedition. Realizing that, River removed it from her pocket, as well as her TARDIS diary, and placed them on the ground next to the chair. She also realized that this Doctor must have a sonic as well. Moving with more speed, she went over to him and removed it from his pocket and placed it on top of her diary next to the other one. Her fingers lingered on the cover of her diary for a moment.

_So many memories for such a little book. The cover is fitting: It truly is bigger on the inside. _

"Auto-destruct in three minutes." Quietly, she finally sat down and began to wire herself into the system. Forcing herself to devote all of her thought to what she was doing, River was able to forget about what was actually happening to her.

"Auto-destruct in two minutes." In her peripheral vision, River could see the Doctor begin to stir. Trying to refocus her attention to her work, she took a deep breath and prepared herself for what was to come.

…

River stood near the TARDIS doors, watching the Doctor type in some coordinates. His newest companion, Clara, was standing behind him, firing off questions faster than he could respond. Bafflement etched lines into his forehead as he tried to keep up.

_Not many people can bewilder the Doctor. I like her. _

River laughed out loud and walked up the stairs to lean against the console next to the Doctor. With Clara still talking, he walked away from River to adjust some settings on the opposite side from the scanner. Both women followed without thinking and reassumed their respective positions on either side of him.

Suddenly, one of the buttons the Doctor had pressed began to flash red and an alarm began to sound.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing," Clara asked over the noise at the exact same time that River pointed to a button beside the flashing one and said:

"It's that one, Sweetie."

"I know what I'm doing," The Doctor exclaimed with annoyance as he pressed the blue button that River had indicated.

With a look of disbelief, River's eyes shot up to look at the Doctor, thinking that he had heard her when, in fact, he was responding to Clara. When she realized that, River dropped her gaze in disappointment.

_He will never hear me again, no matter how much I shout at him. _

She wanted to reach up and touch his face, but she knew that he wouldn't feel her either.

_If he had known that this was going to happen to me, I wonder if he still would have saved me. _

And then quietly, as an afterthought:

_I wish he wouldn't have…_

The Doctor walked back around to the scanner and pulled River out of her thoughts. She didn't follow, though, and watched his image warp through the glass of the time rotor.

"… And where's the kitchen at? I need something to drink," Clara finally finished.

"So do I," the Doctor mumbled before answering. Clara left the control room in search of some tea, leaving River and the Doctor alone.

"I understand, now, why you gave me your sonic screwdriver," River said aloud. "It happened about a week ago, for me. How long has it been for you, since I died?" River's voice cracked on the last word. Walking around to stand next to the Doctor who was adamantly staring at the scanner in deep concentration, River continued to talk.

"I know you can't hear or see or feel me anymore, Doctor, but I hope you know that I'm here. I always will be here… Even though you can't be here for me."

Taking a step away from the Doctor, River breathed in deeply.

"I'm sorry," She simply said and vanished.

The Doctor placed his hands on the edge of the console and leaned forward, exhaling dramatically as if he had been holding in his breath for the past five minutes. He slowly looked up at the empty space beside him where River had been standing, his eyes heavy with sorrow.

"Oh, River." Tears began to make streaks down his face. "_I'm_ sorry, River. I'm so sorry."

"Doctor?" Clara had reappeared in the doorway behind him, clutching a mug of tea with both hands.

The Doctor spun around and wiped his face with his sleeve, trying unsuccessfully to hide the tears.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, fine." Clara frowned.

"I'm making you a cup, too," she said before sipping some of the steaming tea from her mug and turning to walk back to the kitchen.

The Doctor sniffed. Without thinking, he stepped over to stand in front of the spot that River had occupied before she disappeared. It felt wrong. Someone should have been standing there. The Doctor reached out and ran his hand through the heavy air in front of him, wanting her to come back.

_But if she comes back, I might have to say goodbye. I don't know if I'm strong enough. _

"I'm so sorry, River," he repeated. "Please forgive me."

Breathing deep, the Doctor turned around to follow Clara. He hoped that it wasn't too late to tell her that he wanted two sugars in his tea.


End file.
